Marcelino de Jesus Martinez and Bride Dowry - Essay Example

Download file to see previous pages Martinez’s daughter was not missing but had simply gone away with her ‘husband’. The track is complicated and a direct narration is perhaps the best. Martinez hails from a Native American Indian tribe from the Oaxaca valley in Mexico known as the Trique. He was approached by his one-time neighbor and fellow Oaxacan Margarito de Jesus Galindo, who requested the hand of his daughter in marriage. Margarito was only 18 and Martinez’s daughter was just 14. Further, the father had followed a Trique tradition by demanding a sizable dowry from the suitor. He asked to be given $16,000 in cash, 160 cases of beer, 100 cases of soda, 50 cases of Gatorade, two cases of wine, and six cases of meat.

This was to be paid on an installment basis and the couple was allowed to cohabitate for a week without any kind of legal sanction as per California law. Margarito defected in his payment within a week of the marriage making his father-in-law furious. To get back his daughter, he enlisted the aid of the state police – but here, he cunningly covered the part about their marriage deal; choosing only to reveal that his daughter had gone missing. The police were quick to find the eloped couple and soon came to know the entire story. As it happens, numerous state and federal laws of California and the United States of America had been broken here.

The girl was only 14 years old, which is 4 years less than the legal age for marriage in California. The police further chose to label this as “human trafficking” and Martinez has been jailed. He has been awaiting trial. Further, Galindo was cited for statutory rape and released. This is based on the testimony of the girl who confessed to having consummated their relationship within the week of the marriage.

The nature of the incident and the atypical dowry demand captured headlines all around the world, with a sudden resurgence of interest in the traditions and practices of the Trique Indians. While a large section of the world population condemned the incident as equivalent to trafficking in women, another section, particularly the immigrant population hailing from Oaxaca defended the system. They argue that the tradition of accepting bride prices was ancient and deeply rooted within their cultures which were designed more to protect the woman and her rights rather than to degrade her. ...Download file to see next pages Read More